SENTINEL

 

Angels are you near me

To catch me if I fall?

Do you stand guard at the entrance

Of my heart

On God’s errand and sentinel’s call?

 

Do you pave the way

And steady my feet,

And ensure my enemy’s defeat?

 

You are unsung heroes

Of every journey’s flight

You are phantoms of love

Concealed from mortal sight.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Sentinel of Light by Greg Collins)

 

THE SERVANT

 

He who walked the dusty roads

Of Judea and Galilee,

Washed the feet of His humble servants

Who followed Him.

 

He who lowered himself

To the depths of humility,

Who once sat on godly thrones

Served the lowly humanity.

 

He who came to this earth willingly,

Divested of kingly authority

Out of the dust of Galilee

Gave us glorious immortality.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Washing Disciples Feet by Albert Edelfelt)

A PROMISE TO FOLLOW

 

 I promised to follow

As You promised we’d never part;

I remember, I remember

And carry You always

In the shadow of my heart.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Lord is My Shepherd by Yongsung Kim)

MY LOVE AT THY FEET

 

If I had the might to plant Thee in each heart

Of all that breathes,

In pursuit of such a quest I would walk the earth

With apparent ease.

As I can do so little this desire to meet,

I lay my loyal love at Thy holy feet.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Come Follow Me by Gabriel Heaton)

 

MERCY

 

"And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind, and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he wil take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

"And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people....."

- (Alma 7:11-12)

Will You come and carry me
When all my strength is gone?
Will Your mercy spill from You
When I can walk no more?

Will Your love lift me higher
To glimpse my eternal home?
Will I see my soul there
Before Your gilded throne?

When the sum of my life is done
Will You bring me home to keep?
I'll want to kneel and honour You
Before your godly Mercy Seat.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Carried by Christ by Gabriel Heaton)

TEARS AND FEATHERS

 

Before I left
You tried to tell me
Of the tears I would spill
But when I see a flying feather
I should surrender and be very still.

Now when a tear falls
I remember You,
My God and my King,
And I find Your loving comfort
In the shadow of Your wing.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Under His Wings by Ron DiCianni)

SELF-WILL

 

"The submission of one's will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God's altar. The many other things we 'give', are actually the things He has already given or loaned us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God's will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!

- Neal A. Maxwell, , "Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father" General Conference October 1995

I pleaded with You on bended knee
My problems to resolve.
You sat in silence hoping I would give You
What you yearned the most to own:
My self-will, my hesitance to relinquish control.
In the end I gave it up
And found solace in Thy soul.

Yes, You said,
Now you understand.
I paved the way
In Gethsemane long ago.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Designed by ChinchillaPrints)

UPON A ROCK

 

"Someone once said you can't visually tell the difference between a strand of cobweb and a strand of powerful cable - until stress is put on the strand. Our testimonies are that way, and for most of us, the days of stress for our testimonies have already begun.

"It may not be the death of a loved one. We might not yet have been asked to give up something that is really precious to us, though the time for such a test may well come to us by and by.

"Our current stress is more likely to come in the form of overpowering temptations, which show us that a shallow acceptance of the gospel does not have the power to cope with the full fury of the powers of darkness.

"Perhaps there is a mission call to a place of illness and disappointment, when we had planned on a mission to a place of unbounded opportunity. Or perhaps there are too many questions to which our limited knowledge simply has no answer, and those who claim to know more than we do taunt us with what appears to be a persuasive certainty.

"When those times come, our testimonies must be more than the cobweb strand of a fair-weather faith. They need to be like strands of a cable, powerful enough to resist the shafts of him who would destroy us.

"In our days of stress and trouble, we must be built 'upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God....that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind....and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you....because of the rock upon which ye are built' (Helaman 5:12).

- Bruce C. Hafen, "The Believing Heart, 2nd ed. [1990] 21-22

There is none like Thee
My Saviour and my King,
With power and glory in Thy wings.
Who can compare and who can equal Thee
In Thy unfailing care of me?

Thou art the rock of my salvation
Thy wings my refuge from the fall.
Thou art my role model,

My example, my all.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: In Humility Our Saviour by Jay Bryant Ward)

MASTER CREATOR

 

A long time ago
When you created the heaven
And the earth,
You also appointed my time of birth.

You knew my place in time
And where and how I could grow,
You planned my life for me
Better than I could know.

Now I am here,
I still feel Your hand in mine,
You promised not to leave me
And bring me home in time.


- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: The Great Creator by Gabriel Heaton)

SELF-SACRIFICE

 

“The Saviour said He would no longer accept burnt offerings of animals. The gift or sacrifice He will accept now is a ‘broken heart and a contrite spirit’ (3 Nephi 9:20). You can offer the Lord the gift of your broken or repentant heart and your contrite, or obedient, spirit.

“In reality, it is the gift of yourself – what you are and what you are becoming. Is there something in you or in your life that is impure or unworthy? When you get rid of it, that is a gift to the Saviour. Is there a good habit or quality that is lacking in your life? When you adopt it and make it part of your character, you are giving a gift to the Lord.”

- Elder D. Todd Christofferson, in CR April 2004, Ensign May 2004, p 12

All that is unspoken
And all that is unseen
In the depths of my soul
I long to give.

All that you ask I place
On the altar of sacrifice.
All that I feel
And all that I am
I am willing to give.

I give You my all
Because a heart can give no more.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: For God So Loved the World by Jay Bryant Ward)

AND THE ANGELS SING

I pleaded with you,

In the beginning,

To bring me home again to Thee.

I promised to heed every call,

To avoid every danger,

To abhor every sin.

 

I have laboured, Father,

to bring joy to Thee

and To be worthy

Of Your love for me.

 

When my time comes,

I will come home to Thee

and I will wait

 at heaven’s door knocking

Until I hear the angels sing. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Lightbearers by Greg Olsen)

 

ODE TO HEAVEN'S MOTHER

 

You feared as you held your Firstborn,

That from your arms He would be torn.

You knew that one day

The glory for His Father He would yearn,

And willingly walk the path of thorns

His godly crown to earn.

Did your heart break

When the heaven's wept

To see your perfect Son

On the cross of tribulation

Endure untold pain

In the valley of humiliation?

And when home He came

To embrace His glory,

Did you weep with joy

Because above all,

He was just your boy!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Heavenly Mother in Gethsemane by Del Parson)

ODE TO HEAVENLY MOTHER

 

You nurtured me so lovingly

And placed me on the godly path;

You bid me follow in your footsteps,

To bring honour to Your noble heart.

 

I long to bring You my earthly memories

And tell You of them, one by one;

I hope to bring You endless joy

When home at last I come.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Holding Heaven by Jenedy Paige)

GIFT

 

His profound grief, His indescribable anguish,

His overpowering torture.

(Taylor, The Mediation and Atonement, pp 149-50)

 

 

Thy infinite mercy

Thy limitless goodness

Thy bountiful compassion,

A gift to those who loveth Thee;

Trailing from the cross of Calvary,

Sealed with Your hour of agony.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Redemption's Burden by Greg Collins)

LEAP OF FAITH

 

 

“Somewhere in your quest for spiritual knowledge, there is that ‘leap of faith’; as the philosophers call it. It is the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and stepped into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two. ‘The spirit of man’, as the scripture says, indeed ‘is the candle of the Lord’ (Proverbs 20:27).”

-        Elder Boyd K. Packer, “The Candle of the Lord”, Ensign January 1983, p 54-55

 

I will follow Thee my God and My All

When I can see no more;

I will trust in Thee

When all hope flees;

I will praise Thy name

When I am left without ease.

 

I will nurture the seeds of my faith

With tears of my affliction;

Yet will I look up to heaven

And believe in Thy throne;

I will trust in the strength of Thine arms

To lift me and carry me home.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: I Walk By Faith by Judy Cooley)

SACRED PROMISE

 

I prayed in faith

That you would save me

From the river of my tears.

 

You took my soul and wiped it clean

Of the ruin of my life in agony,

And You promised I’ll be more than I could be

If I look toward eternity.

 

I look to You in every thought

And surrender all my fears;

Your sacred promise like a flame

Locked in my heart these many years.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Pray In Faith Believing by Greg Collins)

TO BE ENOUGH

 

Often You come into my mind

And I wonder about my 'enoughs'. 

Did I go to Church enough?

Did I repent enough?

Did I serve enough?

Did I love enough?

I see You in my heart

Smiling lovingly,

And I know....

What will matter

the most in the end

Is my love for Thee. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: A Perfect Peace by Yongsung Kim

TO LOVE

 

I judged so carefully who deserved

The affections of my heart;

My kind words, my tolerance,

My compassion, my love.

 

I missed so many lessons

That were sent to me

With mercy from God above;

I now weep for the underfed

Wishing I had fed them more

Than my meagre portions of love.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Security by David Bowman)